Chapter 205

“It’s nice though,” Zayd says, this twisted, mangled mess of inked limbs on the seat next to me. “Seeing how the other side lives, you know? It’s not as bad as I thought.”

“The other side?” I ask with a small laugh, and he shrugs, looking politely chagrined.

“You know, like commoners. Peasants. Uh …” I give him a look and he stops, grinning brightly. “None of those?”

“How about you just practice saying people?” I suggest, and Zack smiles like he thinks he has a leg up on the others. Sure, he went to school at Lower Banks, so he’s got some street cred, but he also thought it was acceptable to pick a random girl and bring her to her knees for the sake of a bet. He almost killed me. That tells me he’s no better than the others: at least back then, he didn’t see the general populace as being worthy of the same respect as his peers.

“Why did you pick me?” I ask suddenly, and I notice Windsor exchanging a look with Zack. They’re friends now, I’ve noticed, more so t